Compliant mounting arm

ABSTRACT

An improved headset is provided to selectively distribute the weight of the headset while securely registering the headset comfortably on a wearer&#39;s head. The headset comprises one or more compliant arms and a frame to selectively distribute the weight of the headset and secure the headset to the wearer&#39;s head without the need for straps or leavers. The compliant arms provide a normalizing force through elastic body deformation to selectively distribute the weight of the headset.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/651,363 filed on Jul. 17, 2017, which claims the benefitunder 35 U.S.C § 119 to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.62/362,920 filed on Jul. 15, 2016. The foregoing applications are herebyincorporated by reference into the present application in their entiretyas though set forth in full.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present application generally relates to headset designs forinteractive virtual and augmented reality devices.

BACKGROUND

Modern computing and display technologies have facilitated thedevelopment of systems for so called “virtual reality” or “augmentedreality” experiences, wherein digitally reproduced images or portionsthereof are presented to a user in a manner wherein they seem to be, ormay be perceived as, real. A virtual reality, or “VR”, scenariotypically involves presentation of digital or virtual image informationwithout transparency to other actual real-world visual input; anaugmented reality, or “AR”, scenario typically involves presentation ofdigital or virtual image information as an augmentation to visualizationof the actual world around the user.

VR or AR systems generally use headsets as the structure to mountcomponents that provide a user with the visual and sometimes auditoryportions of the VR/AR experience. These components may include, forexample: one or more cameras to capture pictures and videos of theuser's surrounding; one or more devices to project images and videosinward towards the user (e.g., lenses, video projectors, etc.); one ormore sensors for sensing motion and direction; and one or moreelectronic computing devices to capture, render and display imagesand/or videos. While these additional components may be small and lightweight individually, the combination of the components will addconsiderable additional weight to the headset. Even worse, theadditional weight is usually towards the front of the headset and thisadditional weight is generally supported by the nose bridge of thewearer.

Extended or even short use of the headset can be uncomfortable on awearer's nose bridge since the headset is heavy with all of theadditional components affixed to the headset and coupled with the factthat most of the additional weight tend to be forward facing.Additionally, the headset must be securely attached to the wearer's headto operate effectively (e.g., for sensor positioning purposes, videocaptures, etc.)

Legacy headset designs typically employ one or more straps to securelyattach the headset to the head of a wearer. The straps are generallyadjustable and elastic. The adjustability of the straps allows forvarying head sizes and shapes of different wearers. The elasticity ofthe straps secures the headset to a wearer's head and may also redirectsome of the weight of the headset from a wearer's nose bridge to thewearer's head. However, the use of straps provides its own challenges:it is cumbersome to adjust, it is cumbersome to put on and take off theheadset, the straps may need to be tightened in order to maintain asecure fit between the headset and a wearer's head, and finally,depending on the weight of the headset itself, the strap may need to befurther tightened to ensure the headset does not provide too much weightto a wearer's nose bridge.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved headset that selectivelyredistributes the weight of the headset from the wearer's nose bridge tothe wearer's head while securely registering the headset to the wearer'shead.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not beassumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in thebackground section. Similarly, a problem and the understanding of thecauses of a problem mentioned in the background section or associatedwith the subject matter of the background section should not be assumedto have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matterin the background section may merely represent different approaches,which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention provide an improved apparatus to provide aretaining force to keep a headset secured comfortably on the wearer'shead. The headset comprises one or more compliant mounting arms to allowfor secure attachment of the headset to a wearer's head without the needfor straps or levers. The compliant mounting arms provide a normalizingforce to selectively distribute the load from the wearer's nose bridgeto the forehead and other areas of the wearer's head. The compliantmounting arms may selectively distribute the load along the strongeststructural portions of the skull. Comfort may be achieved by selectivedistribution of the load in various forms such as a uniform or nearuniform distribution of the load (i.e. no point loads) and/or anon-uniform distribution of the load near and around certain points ofthe compliant mounting arm.

In one embodiment, a headset includes one or more compliant arms, and aframe, wherein the one or more compliant arms are coupled to the frame,and wherein the compliant arms selectively distribute a weight of theheadset.

In one or more embodiments, the one or more compliant arms may uniformlydistribute a weight of the headset. The one or more compliant arms mayalso non-uniformly distribute a weight of the headset. The one or morecompliant arms may also be the same size and shape. The one or morecompliant arms may also be adjustable on a multi-axis. The one or morecompliant arms may also be adjustable along a variety of angles along ahorizontal plane. The one or more compliant arms and the frame may beconstructed as one single body, wherein the one or more compliant armsmay be adjustable on a multi-axis.

In one or more embodiments, the headset may include two upper compliantarms, two compliant arms, and one frame, wherein the two upper compliantarms and the two compliant arms are adjustable on a multi-axis. The oneor more complaint arms may be joined by a connector comprising a spooltype spring. The one or more compliant arms may include an upward bend.The headset may be a virtual reality or augmented reality headset.

In another embodiment, a compliant arm may include an outer wall, aninner wall, a wall bridge, and a plurality of ribs connecting the outerwall, the inner wall, and the wall bridge, wherein the outer wall, theinner wall, the wall bridge and the plurality of ribs selectivelydistribute a load by an elastic body deformation.

In one or more embodiments, the compliant arm may be a single body. Thecompliant arm may be constructed from a same material. The same materialmay be a thermoplastic. The compliant arm may be adjustable on amulti-axis when coupled to a frame. The compliant arm may be verticallyadjustable when coupled to a frame. The compliant arm may behorizontally adjustable when coupled to a frame.

In one or more embodiments, the plurality of ribs may be of varyinglengths. Each rib of the plurality of ribs may correspond to a differentslenderness ratio. Each rib of the plurality of ribs may be a differentthickness. A thickness of a rib from the plurality of ribs may bevarying throughout the rib. One or more ribs from the plurality of ribsmay have varying widths.

In one or more embodiments, the outer wall and the plurality of ribs maybe constructed of different materials. The inner wall may be incompression, the outer wall may be in tension, the wall bridge may be incompression and tension, and each of the plurality of ribs may be ineither tension or compression when a load is applied to the compliantarm. An arm width of the compliant arm may be a varying width atdifferent points along the inner wall.

Each of the individual embodiments described and illustrated herein hasdiscrete components and features that may be readily separated from orcombined with the components and features of any of the other severalembodiments.

Further details of aspects, objects, and advantages of the invention aredescribed below in the detailed description, drawings, and claims. Boththe foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare exemplary and explanatory, and are not intended to be limiting as tothe scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate the design and utility of various embodiments ofthe present invention. It should be noted that the figures are not drawnto scale and that elements of similar structures or functions arerepresented by like reference numerals throughout the figures. In orderto better appreciate how to obtain the above-recited and otheradvantages and objects of various embodiments of the invention, a moredetailed description of the present inventions briefly described abovewill be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which areillustrated in the accompanying drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are nottherefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will bedescribed and explained with additional specificity and detail throughthe use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of an example headset forselectively distributing a load to a wearer's head while securelyregistering the headset to the head according to some embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 1B illustrates a top view of an example headset for selectivelydistributing a load to a wearer's head while securely registering theheadset to the head according to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1C illustrates a side view of an example headset for selectivelydistributing a load to a wearer's head while securely registering theheadset to the head according to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1D illustrates a front view of an example headset for selectivelydistributing a load to a wearer's head while securely registering theheadset to the head according to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1E illustrates a perspective view of an alternative example headsetfor selectively distributing a load to a wearer's head while securelyregistering the headset to the head according to some embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 1F illustrates a side view of an alternative example headset forselectively distributing a load to a wearer's head while securelyregistering the headset to the head according to some embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of an example of a compliant armaccording to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2B illustrates a top view of an example of a compliant armaccording to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2C illustrates a bottom view of an example of a compliant armaccording to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2D illustrates a side view of an example of a compliant armaccording to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of how a compliant arm deforms andselectively distribute a load according to some embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of how the weight of a headset on awearer's head may be redistributed by using a compliant mounting armaccording to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a virtual reality/augmented realityheadset using a compliant arm according to some embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a virtual reality/augmented realityheadset according to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of a virtual reality/augmented realityheadset according to some embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments will now be described in detail with reference tothe drawings, which are provided as illustrative examples of theinvention so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice theinvention. Notably, the figures and the examples below are not meant tolimit the scope of the present invention. Where certain elements of thepresent invention may be partially or fully implemented using knowncomponents (or methods or processes), only those portions of such knowncomponents (or methods or processes) that are necessary for anunderstanding of the present invention will be described, and thedetailed descriptions of other portions of such known components (ormethods or processes) will be omitted so as not to obscure theinvention. Further, various embodiments encompass present and futureknown equivalents to the components referred to herein by way ofillustration.

The apparatuses disclosed herein address selectively distributing weightfrom a headset while securely attaching the headset to the wearer's headwithout the use of straps. This is achievable by affixing one or morecompliant mounting arms onto the headset, wherein the headset comprisesthe components required to provide a wearer with a wearable computingheadset, for example, to interact with the VR or AR experience.

There are many different bases on how to selectively adjust thedistribution of a load. Therefore, there are many types of results thatcan be achieved by selectively distributing a load. For example, oneresult that can be achieved is a uniform or near uniform distribution ofthe load. By no means is the prior example the only type of result forselectively distributing a load. For example, another type of result maybe dependent on the shape of a person's head. In this situation, it maybe beneficial to distribute a load to certain point loads at certainlocations along the compliant arm, which may achieve certain types ofnon-uniform loading results by simply pinpointing different points alongthe compliant mounting arm to distribute the load.

FIGS. 1A-1D illustrates multiple views of an example headset forselectively distributing a load to a wearer's head while securelyregistering the headset to the head according to some embodiments of theinvention. FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view, FIG. 1B illustrates atop view, FIG. 1C a side view, and FIG. 1D illustrates a front view ofthe example headset for selectively distributing a load to a wearer'shead while securely registering the headset to the wearer's headaccording to some embodiments of the invention.

Headset 100 is employed to selectively distribute a load onto a wearer'shead, according to some embodiments. Headset 100 provides this abilityto selectively distribute weight while still securely registering theheadset and its components to the wearer's head.

Headset 100 comprises compliant arms 110, frame 140, forehead pad 150,and nose bridge 160. Compliant arms 110 are compliant mechanisms,wherein compliant arms 110 transfer an input force to another pointthrough elastic body deformation. In some embodiments, compliant arms110 may be the same size and shape. In some embodiments, compliant arms110 may be varying size and shape between a left compliant arm and aright compliant arm, based at least in part on a deformation profile. Insome embodiments, the compliant arms may be joined by a connector havinga spool type spring, wherein the spool type spring provides acompression force for fitting adjustments for different head sizesinstead of compression force for constricting the compliant arms andheadset to a user's head. In such embodiments, the frame, compliantarms, and connector wrap around the user's head. As an example for thisapplication, compliant arms 110 will be assumed to be the same shape andsize for ease of explanation. However, one of ordinary skill in the artappreciates the compliant arms 110 may not be the same shape and sizebecause of varying deformation profiles.

Frame 140 is a structure that holds certain components affixed to theframe 140 in front of a person's eyes. Frame 140 may comprise VR/ARcomponents, for example sensors, cameras, electronic components, etc.Frame 140 also comprise forehead pad 150 and nose bridge 160. Frame 140may include a temple that rests on the ears and allow the headset totransfer some of the weight of the headset onto the ears. Frame 140 mayalso have elastic features, for example, flexible points 130 to securelyregister the temple arms of frame 140 into the side of a wearer's headto provide some transfer of the weight of the headset 100 onto the sideof a wearer's head. Flexible points 130 may be of a pre-formed flexiblemember designed to bend and unbend depending on an applied force, suchas, for example, a pair of wrap-around sunglasses with no hinges betweenits temple arm and its eyeglass frame. In some embodiments (not shown inthe figures), a compliant temple may be used to provide a uniformdistribution of the weight of the headset along the side of a wearer'shead, in addition to the compliant arms that may be used to provide aselective distribution of the weight of the headset towards anchorpoints/bones of the wearer's head.

In some embodiments of the invention (as depicted in FIGS. 1A-1D), theremay be two or more compliant arms 110 coupled to one frame 140. Forpurposes of this discussion, for example, a headset 100 comprising twocompliant arms 110 and one frame 140 will be further described.

In some embodiments, there may be only one forehead pad 150. In otherembodiments (as shown in FIGS. 1A-1B), there may be one or more foreheadpads 150. Forehead pad 150 may take away some of the weight of headset100 when there are reactive forces pulling the headset 100 towards therear of the wearer's head, e.g., when the compliant arms 110 arecreating a selectively distributed force on a wearer's head, the counterforce may be on the forehead pad 150 to the wearer's forehead.

Compliant arms 110 may be adjustable on a multi-axis (e.g., verticalplane and/or horizontal plane) when coupled to the frame 140. Forexample, compliant arms 110 may be adjustable along a variety ofadjustable angles 180 along a horizontal plane (a plane relative to howthe arm is connected to the frame) to allow the compliant arms 110 tocontact a wearer's head at a particular angle which may be suitable formost head sizes and shapes or which may be required due to a particulardeformation profile, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The ability to adjustthe lower compliant arms along adjustable angle 180 allows the wearerflexibility of setting an initial fit. The setting of the adjustableangle 180 for the initial fit may be by snapping the compliant arms 110into place, spring-loaded detents, a screw in feature, other mechanism,or a secondary set of compliant mechanisms that adjusts the adjustableangle 180 of the compliant arms 110. The compliant arms 110 may also bedisplaced or distorted along the same horizontal plane once the headset100 is applied onto a wearer's head. This displacement or distortionalong the horizontal plane allows the compliant arm to selectivelydistribute a point load along its flexible structure to the wearer'shead, which in turn create reactive forces against forehead pad 150 toredistribute weight from the headset from a wearer's nose bridge toother areas of the wearer's head.

In some embodiments, compliant arms 110 may be adjustable along anotheraxis such as a horizontal axis such that the compliant arms 110 may beadjustable in a vertical plane about the horizontal axis. Compliant arms110 may be adjustable along a variety of adjustable angle 190 along avertical plane (a plane relative to how the arm is coupled to the frame)as shown in FIG. 1C. The ability to adjust compliant arms 110 along avariety of adjustable angle 190 may be important according to someembodiments. For example, the majority of the weight from headset 100may need to be selectively distributed from the wearer's nose bridge andears to the compliant arms 110 and forehead pad 150. In this situation,it may be beneficial to be able to adjust the compliant arms 110 by avariety of angles along adjustable angle 190 along the vertical plane tofurther allow compliant arms 110 to selectively distribute the weightfrom headset 100. One of ordinary skill in the art appreciates althoughthe current example discloses a headset where most of the weight istowards the front of the headset, the same concept can be used to designcompliant arms to selectively distribute a load wherever the loadconcentration may be on the headset, whether it is, for example, towardsthe front, the center, or the rear of the headset.

FIGS. 1E-1F illustrate a perspective and side view, respectively, of analternative example headset for selectively distributing a load to awearer's head while securely registering the headset to the headaccording to some embodiments of the invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1E-1F, headset 100 a is a similar embodiment ofheadset 100 described in FIGS. 1A-1D. Headset 100 a comprises uppercompliant arms 120. Upper compliant arms 120 are compliant mechanismssuch as compliant arms 110. Upper compliant arms 120 may provideadditional selective distribution of the weight of the headset on awearer's head. In some embodiments, headset 100 a comprises one or moreframe adapter 130.

Frame adapter 130 is an adapter that couples the compliant arms to theframe 140. In some embodiments, only the compliant arms 110 are coupledto a frame adapter 130. In other embodiments, both the compliant arms110 and the upper compliant arms 120 are coupled to the frame adapter130. In other embodiments, a compliant arm 110 and a plurality of uppercompliant arms 120 are coupled to the frame adapter 130. Yet in otherembodiments, the compliant arm(s) and the frame adapter 130 may beconstructed as a single piece/body. In the event the upper compliantarms 120 and/or the compliant arm 110 is coupled to the frame adapter130, the compliant arms may be coupled to the frame adapter usingdifferent types of attachments such as, for example, bolt-on arms, snapon arms, rotatable snap-fit arms, ratcheting features, and an extendiblearm-mount or central component to disclose just a few. One of ordinaryskill in the art appreciates there may be other types of attachments tocouple a compliant arm to the frame adapter 130.

Frame adapter 130 may be rigidly attached onto the frame 140 usingvarious techniques such as, for example, sliding or snapping the frameadapter 130 onto the temple arms of the frame 140. In some embodiments,frame adapter 130 having the compliant arm(s) and the frame 140 may be asingle piece. In other embodiments, frame adapter 130 may be adjustablealong the frame 140 to allow varying head sizes and shapes of differentwearers. One of ordinary skill in the art appreciates there are manyother ways to attach the frame adapter 130 to the frame 140.

Upper compliant arms 120 may be adjustable on a multi-axis (e.g.,vertical plane and/or horizontal plane with respect to how the arm iscoupled to the frame) when coupled to frame 140 or to frame adapter 130.Upper compliant arms 120 may be adjustable along a variety of adjustableangle 170 along a horizontal plane (e.g., a plane relative to how thearm is coupled to the frame) to allow the upper compliant arms tocontact a wearer's head at a particular angle which may be suitable formost head sizes and shapes or which may be required due to a particulardeformation profile. The ability to adjust the upper compliant armsalong adjustable angle 170 allows the wearer flexibility of setting aninitial fit. The setting of the adjustable angle 170 for the initial fitmay be by snapping the upper compliant arms 120 into place,spring-loaded detents, a screw in feature, other mechanism, or asecondary set of compliant mechanisms that adjusts the adjustable angle170 of the upper compliant arms 120. The compliant arms may also bedisplaced or distorted along the same vertical plane as adjustable angle170 once the headset 100 a is applied onto a wearer's head. In someembodiments, it is this displacement or distortion of force or weightalong adjustable angle 170 that allows the compliant arm to selectivelydistribute a point load along its flexible structure to the wearer'shead.

In some embodiments, upper compliant arms 120 may be adjustable on amulti-axis (e.g., vertical plane and/or horizontal plane with respect tohow the arm is coupled to the frame) when coupled to frame 140 or frameadapter 130. For example, upper compliant arms 120 may be adjustablealong adjustable angle 195 along a vertical plane as shown in FIG. 1F.The ability to adjust upper compliant arms 120 along adjustable angle195 may be important if frame adapter 130 is adjustable forward orbackward with respect to the frame 140 in order to maintain a particularangle of contact between the upper compliant arm 120 and the wearer'shead to avoid having certain edges of the upper compliant arms 120 indirect contact with the wearer's head. Furthermore, the ability toadjust the upper compliant arms 120 along adjustable angle 195 may alsohelp improve the uniformity of the distribution of weight from the uppercompliant arms 120 to the wearer's head.

Headset 100 a in FIGS. 1E-1F contains two variations from headset 100shown in FIGS. 1A-1D. The two variations are frame adapter 130 and uppercompliant arms 120. The two additional variants (e.g., frame adapter 130and upper compliant arms 120) are independent variations of headset 100.Headset 100 may operate independently of and do not need to have frameadapter 130 and/or upper compliant arms 120. Headset 100 a describesalternative examples of how a headset 100 may be configured.

Compliant mechanisms are flexible mechanisms that transfer an inputforce or displacement to another point through elastic body. Compliantmechanisms can be designed to transfer an input force selectively acrosspredetermined portions of its elastic body through deformation.Compliant mechanisms are elastic. Compliant mechanisms gain at leastsome of their mobility from the deflection of flexible members ratherthan from movable joints. Since compliant mechanisms rely on thedeflection of flexible members, energy is stored in the form of strainenergy in the flexible members. This stored energy is similar to thepotential energy in a deflected spring, and the effects of springs maybe integrated into a compliant mechanisms design to distribute anapplied load. This can be used to easily store and/or transform energyto be released at a later time or in a different manner. A bow and arrowsystem is a simple example of this. Energy is stored in the limbs as thearcher draws the bow. This potential energy is then transformed tokinetic energy of the arrow. These energy storage characteristics mayalso be used to design for specific force-deflection properties, or tocause a mechanism to tend to particular positions.

Compliant mechanisms are designed specifically to transfer an inputforce or displacement at one point of the mechanism to another pointthrough elastic body deformation. A compliant mechanism may be designedbased on a deformation profile and a slenderness ratio.

A deformation profile is the geometry obtained by an object after aprescribed loading is applied. For some embodiments, a deformationprofile may be one that matches as closely as possible to the profile orgeometry or contour of a wearer's head. Additionally, a point loadapplied to a fixed position of a compliant mechanism may be designed tonon-uniformly or uniformly/near-uniformly distribute the load across thecompliant mechanism through elastic body deformation based at least inpart on a deformation profile. For example, the deformation profile of acompliant mounting arm may be designed to deform the compliant arm alongthe contour of a wearer's head while selectively distributing anormalizing load of the point load across the arm and onto the wearer'shead.

In some embodiments (non-uniform distribution), the deformation of thecompliant arm may distribute point loads of the load to particularpinpoint locations on the compliant arm to non-uniformly distribute theload as a point load to an anchor point/bone on a wearer's head. Theanchor point/bone may be a strong bone structure that can withstand aload without discomfort, for example, the occipital bone, temporal bone,mastoid/styloid process, and ridge along the parietal bone.

In some embodiments, the deformation of the compliant arm(uniform/near-uniform distribution) may wrap around a wearer's head touniformly/near-uniformly distribute the normalizing force onto thewearer's head. For a compliant mechanism, the design of the compliantmechanism may allow the transformation of the single point load viaelastic body deformation of the entire compliant mechanism. This may bedesired so that a single point load is not just transferred as anothersingle point load, but instead, distributed as uniformly as possibleacross multiple points of the compliant mechanism body.

One of ordinary skill in the art appreciates a compliant mechanism canbe designed to either uniformly or non-uniformly distribute a load. Insome embodiments, a compliant mechanism may be designed to achieve bothtypes of load distribution results, wherein certain portions of thecompliant arm may be designed to uniformly distribute a portion of theload while other portions of the compliant arm may be designed tonon-uniformly distribute a portion of the load to an anchor point/bone.

An embodiment of a compliant arm will be discussed vis-à-vis FIGS.2A-2D.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrates multiple views of an example of a compliant armaccording to some embodiments of the invention. FIG. 2A illustrates aperspective view, FIG. 2B illustrates a top view, FIG. 2C illustrates abottom view, and FIG. 2D illustrates a side view on a compliant arm.

Compliant arm 200 is a compliant mechanism designed to selectivelydistribute a point load to other points of the compliant arm 200 throughelastic body deformation. As discussed in FIGS. 1A-1D, compliant arm 200may be a compliant arm 110.

Outer wall 210 is the outer wall of the compliant arm 200 that does notcome in direct contact with the wearer's head. The outer wall 210 is aflexible member with structural strength. Outer wall 210 may be incompression or tension, depending on the force that is introduced to thecompliant arm 200. Inner wall 220 is the portion of compliant arm 200that comes in direct contact with the wearer's head. Inner wall 220 is aflexible member with some structural strength. Inner wall 220 may be incompression or tension, depending on the force that is introduced to thecompliant arm 200.

In some embodiments, rib 230 is flexible member with structuralrigidity. In some embodiments, rib 230 is anchored to outer wall 210 andinner wall 220 at either end of rib 230. As a load is applied to acompliant arm 200 with flexible rib 230, the flexible rib 230 deformsaccording to its particular slenderness ratio and modulus, therebydistributing amount of the load incident to a given rib 230 location incompliant arm 200.

In some embodiments, rib 230 is rigid and does not deform underapplication of loads to compliant arm 200, that is, inner wall 220 andouter wall 220 deform but rib 230 does not deform and instead shifts itsorientation by solid body rotation in response to an applied load. Insuch embodiments, rib 230 adjusts orientation between outer wall 210 andinner wall 220 through hinges (not depicted) coupling either end of rib230 to outer wall 210 and inner wall 220. Loads are thus distributedalong compliant arm 200 in the direction and in proportion to the vectororientation of a rigid rib 230 under such solid body rotation.

A compliant arm 200 may have one or more rib 230 to achieve a desireddeformation profile. Rib thickness 290 is the thickness of a particularrib 230. Rib length 295 is the length of a particular rib 230. Rib 230may be of varying length and/or thickness depending on a desiredslenderness ratio.

A slenderness ratio is the ratio of the length of a column and the leastradius of gyration of its cross section. It is used extensively forfinding out the design load as well as in classifying various columns inshort/intermediate/long. In some embodiments, each rib may have its ownslenderness ratio to produce a non-uniform distribution of a load. Insome embodiments, there may be a constant slenderness ratio applied to aplurality of the ribs to produce a more uniformly/near-uniformlydistribution of a load. Therefore, the slenderness ratio is aquantifiable metric for the relative amount of flex to rib 230 given aninput load to the compliant arm 200.

The longer the rib, the more flexibility it will have over a similarshorter rib. In some embodiments, a rib may have varying thickness 290throughout its length 295 to achieve a desired deformation profile. Forexample, the base of a rib 230 (the connection to the inner wall) mayhave a thickness greater or less than the top of the rib 230 (theconnection to the outer wall). In some embodiments, the base of a rib230 and the top of the rib 230 may have a greater rib thickness 290 thanrest of the length of the rib to avoid stress concentration where theribs meet the walls. In such an embodiment, this is desired because theribs are meant to flex such that they create a relative deformationbetween the inner wall 220 and the outer wall 210. Rib 230 may also bevariably spaced between another rib 230 depending on the targeteddeformation profile to achieve as much of a uniform distribution of loadalong the inner wall 220 and a wearer's head. During application of aload on the compliant arm 200, one or more of the rib 230 may be incompression or in tension. In some embodiments one or more rib 230 maybe in compression while one or more other rib 230 within the samecompliant arm 200 may be in tension. The one or more rib 230 may beperpendicularly connected to inner wall 220 to maintain a contour lineto match of a wearer's head. The length of a rib 230, the spacingbetween the ribs, and the rib thickness 290 of a rib 230 are variablesthat can be modified to achieve a desired deformation profile toselectively distribute a load.

Wall bridge 240 is the last rib most opposite from mounting hole 250. Insome embodiments, wall bridge 240 may be more rigid than ribs 230 toprovide added strength incident to an anchor point/bone on a wearer'shead. The anchor point being strong bones, for example, the occipitalbone, temporal bone, mastoid/styloid process, and ridge along theparietal bone. Higher relative rigidity of wall bridge 240 ensures outerwall 210 and inner wall 220 have complementary tension and compressionat a given point when subject to an input force. Mounting hole 250 is anarbitrary mounting hole to attach the compliant arm 200 to a frame (seeFIGS. 1A-1D).

In some embodiments a mounting hole 250 may not exist, such as, forexample, when the compliant arm 200 and the frame 140 may be a singlepiece. In other embodiments, the mounting hole 250 may not be a mountinghole, but instead an alternate mounting structure such as, for example,a ball and socket, a snap on attachment, etc. In some embodiments,mounting hole 250 may not be a mounting hole altogether, but a mountingstructure instead. For example, a mounting structure may be a ball andsocket structure, where mounting hole 250 may be a ball in a ball andsocket attachment structure.

Thus, mounting hole 250 is an arbitrary mounting hole for the purpose ofexplanation of the compliant arm 200.

In some embodiments, the first rib 230, the rib that is directly abovethe mounting hole 250 per FIG. 2B, may be the thickest, longest andleast flexible of all of the ribs in a compliant arm 200. This first rib230 provides varying counteracting force against the rest of thecompliant arm 200 structure. If the first rib 230 is thin and veryflexible and there is an upward force applied to the wall bridge, theentire compliant arm 200 may rotate over the point of the mounting hole250 and the first rib will be completely compressed and thus creating apotential rotation of the compliant arm 200 over the mounting hole anddeform the structure such that the compliant arm 200 does not deform tothe contours of a wearer's head. However, if the first rib is somewhatrigid, then the entire arm would not rotate over the mounting hole, butinstead, create a counter force on the rest of the compliant arm 200 toredistribute the load across the compliant arm structure to deform theother components such as, for example, the other ribs, outer wall, innerwall and the wall bridge to achieve a desired deformation profile ofwrapping the compliant arm 200 around the contours of the wearer's headwhile distributing a counter acting force against a single point loadacross the inner wall and evenly onto the wearer's head.

In some embodiments, a constant slenderness ratio for each of ribs 230may maintain a relatively uniform force across compliant arm 200 throughthe controlled buckling/bending of the ribs to drive the relative motionof the inner wall 220 and outer wall 210. For example, even though theribs may have varying lengths and thicknesses, they may be designed tosupport a uniform distribution of load. In other embodiments, with avarying slenderness ratio at any one rib, the distribution of force maybe non-uniform. For example, if an early rib has a higher slendernessratio than a later rib (an early rib being a rib closer to the front ofthe headset 100 and a later rib being a rib closer to the rear ofheadset 100) then the early rib would deform more than the later ribwith a lower slenderness ratio and therefore would distribute moreforce, as an example, on the end towards the wall bridge 240.Furthermore, the wall bridge 240 may apply the non-uniformly distributedload as a point load to an anchor point/bone on a wearer's head, inwhich case, may be more advantageous than applying a uniformlydistributed load along the head of a wearer that is not an anchorpoint/bone. Therefore, in some embodiments, varying the slendernessratio relative to adjacent ribs could provide greater comfort than usinga common slenderness ratio across a plurality of ribs to produce auniformly distribution of the load as an applied force could bedistributed to desired points on a user's anatomy. For example, if anearly rib towards the front of a compliant arm had a higher slendernessratio and each successive rib toward the back of the compliant arm had adecreasing slenderness ratio relative to the previous rib, an appliedload would be more localized toward the back of the compliant arm. Oneof skill in the art will appreciate many alternative configurations ofarranging ribs with various slenderness ratios, such as high slendernessratios in the central ribs with relatively lower slenderness ratios inthe early and later ribs to distribute an applied load towards eitherend of a compliant arm (for example in a headset use such distributionwould direct the load towards the temple or occipital bonerespectively).

FIG. 2D illustrates a side view of compliant arm 200 according to someembodiments of the invention. Arm width 260 is the width of thecompliant arm 200. In some embodiments, arm width 260 may be uniform inwidth as shown on FIG. 2D. In other embodiments, arm width 260 may be ofvarying width at various points along the inner wall 220 and/or outerwall 210 to address various deformation profiles or different shapedcompliant arms. In such embodiments, the width of rib 230 may be ofvarying width to correspond to the varying width of the inner wall 220and/or the outer wall 210. In other embodiments, the width of rib 230may be of varying width along the length of rib 230. The variations ofwidth sizes on the various components within a compliant arm 200 may befactors considered when designing a compliant arm for a particulardeformation profile, wherein the variations of width sizes of ribs 230may be variables to consider in determining a slenderness ratio.

In some embodiments where an upper compliant arm 120 (See FIGS. 1E-1F)is utilized, upper edge 270 is the edge of the compliant arm 200 closestto the front portion of a wearer's head. For a compliant arm 110, upperedge 270 is the edge of the compliant arm 200 that is towards the top ofthe head. For the upper compliant arm 120, lower edge 280 is the edge ofthe compliant arm 200 furthest from the front portion a person's head,e.g., towards the backside of the head. For the compliant arm 110, loweredge 280 is the edge of the compliant arm 200 that is towards the bottomof the head.

The interaction between the outer wall 210, inner wall 220, rib(s) 230,and wall bridge 240 based on an input force will produce redistributionof the input force throughout the compliant arm 200 structure. Theredistribution of the input force transferred on the compliant arm andhow it is selectively distributed to the wearer's head is dependent onat least the deformation profile and slenderness ratios. Furthermore,based on the deformation profile and slenderness ratios, the materialsof the components within compliant arm 200 may vary. In some embodimentsall of the components within compliant arm 200 are made from the samematerial, for example, thermosets, thermoplastics, metals andcomposites. In some embodiments, the components within compliant arm 200may be constructed from different materials, for example thermosets,thermoplastics, metals and composites, just to name a few. In someembodiments, the material of the outer wall 210 may be constructed from,for example, a very elastic plastic material while the material of thewall bridge 240 may be constructed from a flexible metal while therib(s) 230 may be constructed from yet another plastic material withless flexibility than the outer wall 210, but more flexibility than thewall bridge 240 with the inner wall 220 made from a composite.

In some embodiments, one or more rib 230 may have varying length withinthe same compliant arm 200 to achieve a particular deformation profileto selectively distribute the load. Furthermore, the spacing betweeneach rib 230 may also be varied to achieve a desired deformation profileto selectively distribute the load. The rib thickness 290 may also be afactor to achieve a desired deformation profile to selectivelydistribute the load. Additionally, the rib width may also be a factor toachieve a desired deformation profile. Similar to the other componentswithin compliant arm 200, rib 230 may be constructed from variousmaterials depending on the desired deformation profile to selectivelydistribute the load. One of ordinary skill in the arts appreciates theshape and sizes of a compliant arm 200 may vary depending on thematerial of the compliant arm 200, rib length 295, rib thickness 290,rib width, spacing of the rib 230, number of ribs 230, material andthickness of inner wall 220 and outer wall 210, arm width 260 of theouter wall 210 and inner wall 220, and/or stiffness of wall bridge 240,just to name a few.

The compliant mounting arm is a passive compliant mechanism having oneor more compliant arms to selectively redistribute the weight of theheadset based at least in part on a deformation profile and slendernessratio. A passive mechanism is a mechanism that is not deliberatelyactuating the system. Therefore, the compliant mechanism is actuated(elastic body deformation) by the forces resulting when a person placesa headset with the compliant arms on his/her head.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of how a compliant arm deforms anduniformly distributes loads according to some embodiments of theinvention. A resting state of a compliant arm 200 is depicted ascompliant arm 310. Compliant arm 310 may be one arm of an uppercompliant arm 120 or a compliant arm 110. For purpose of this example,compliant arm 310 is an upper compliant arm 120 (from FIGS. 1E-1F). Inone embodiment, a deformed state of the compliant arm 310 in response toa point load 320 (e.g., from the weight of the headset) is depicted asdotted lines to illustrate a sample elastic body deformation as a resultof a point load 320. Each of the components of the deformed state of thecompliant arm 310 is further disclosed and described as referencenumbers 340 and greater. Point load 320 may be generated as a result ofthe weight of a headset, for example, a frame 140 loaded with VR/ARcomponents. Reactive forces 330 are the uniformly distributed forcesgenerated as a result of the elastic body deformation of the compliantarm 310. The smaller arrows depicting reactive forces 330 are similar inlength to illustrate the uniformity/near-uniformity of the load of theinner wall 350 against the wearer's head. In this particular example,inner wall 350 is in compression, outer wall 370 is in tension, rib 360,362, and 364 are in compression as shown by the buckling shape of theribs. First rib 340 is in tension because it is still straight and inalmost direct opposite direction as the point load 320. Wall bridge 380is in both compression and tension as it is deforming and wrappingaround wearer's head. One of ordinary skill in the art appreciates thevarying degree of elastic deformation in relations to a uniformdistribution of force along the compliant arm 310 may vary by usingdifferent materials, having varying length ribs, having varying spacingof the ribs, having varying thickness of the ribs, having varying widthsof the ribs, upper wall, lower wall, and wall bridge. One of ordinaryskill in the art appreciates compliant arm 310 may be designed toselectively distribute the weight through elastic body deformation byselectively distributing load 320 towards wall bridge 380 to apply anon-uniformly distributed load to an anchor point/bone (not shown inFIG. 3 ).

In some embodiments, compliant arm 310 may comprise 4 ribs, as shown inFIGS. 2A-2C. In other embodiments, compliant arm 310 may comprise two ormore ribs. The number of ribs in a compliant arm 310 is dependent upon adesired deformation profile. More ribs may allow a more evenlydistributed force along the compliant arm; whereas fewer ribs may allowfor more selective localization of force along the compliant arm.However, the number of ribs may also be dependent on a length of theouter wall and inner wall as well.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of how the weight of a headset on awearer's head may be selectively distributed by using a compliantmounting arm according to some embodiments of the invention. The arrowsin FIG. 4 illustrate the general direction of the weight of the headset400 and the direction of the force distribution using the compliantmounting arms according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, themajority of the weight 410 of the headset is located towards the frontof the headset because of the additional components required asdiscussed above to provide the wearer of the headset a virtualreality/AR experience.

The weight 410 has a downward force placing most of the weight of theheadset onto the nose bridge of a wearer. The weight 410 of the headsetis heavy because of the weight of the additional VR/AR components (notshown in FIG. 4 ). However, countering forces created by the compliantarms offset much of the force from the nose bridge of the wearer toother areas on the wearer's head, for example, the forehead and anchorpoints/bones on the head, for example, occipital bone, temporal bone,mastoid/styloid process, and the ridge along the parietal bone.

Active force 420 is generated from compliant arms 110. Compliant arms110 are deformed into the Parietal or Occipital bones of the wearer'shead because of the downward force generated by the weight 410. Thedeformation of compliant arms 110 generate an active force 420, which inturn produces reactive force 430 and reactive force 450 against theforehead pad 150. Reactive force 430 and reactive force 450 also securethe headset to the wearer's forehead and reduce the weight 410 from theheadset onto the wearer's nose bridge.

In some embodiments, headset 400 may comprise upper compliant arms 120.Upper compliant arms 120 are compliant arms that are more verticallyaligned with the frame 140. Although compliant arms 110 and forehead pad150 may selectively distribute the majority of the weight 410, someembodiments of the invention may include upper compliant arms 120 forfurther selective distribution of load. Active force 440 is generatedfrom upper compliant arms 120. Upper compliant arms 120 are deformedinto the Parietal bone of the wearer's head because of the downwardforce generated by the weight 410. The deformation of upper compliantarms 120 generate an active force 440, which in turn produces reactiveforce 450 and reactive force 430 against the forehead pad 150. Reactiveforce 450 is not dependent on the presence of upper compliant arms 120.In some embodiments, reactive force 450 may be produced by having onlycompliant arms 110 without upper compliant arms 120. This is possible byactive force 420 and reactive force 430 coupled with weight 410.

Reactive force 450 may also secure the headset to the wearer's foreheadwith an upward force and further reduce the weight 410 from the headsetonto the wearer's nose bridge. Reactive force 430 and reactive force 450may also provide enough upward force to prevent the headset fromslipping/falling down the face of the wearer and to keep the headsetsecurely registered to the wearer's forehead via the forehead pad 150.Since active force 420 and reactive force 430 may reduce the weight 410on a wearer's nose bridge, active force 440 and reactive force 450 mayfurther reduce the weight 410 on a wearer's nose bridge. In someembodiments, the active and reactive forces may be enough to completelyremove any load bearing on a wearer's nose bridge.

In some embodiments, upper compliant arms 120 may not be requiredbecause the compliant arms 110 may be designed to generate active force420 which in turn generate reactive force 430 and reactive force 450 tocounter act the weight 410 against forehead pad 150. In otherembodiments, there may be four or six upper compliant arms 120 tofurther distribute the weight 410 across more portions of the wearer'shead to provide even more of a distributed force for more comfort forthe wearer and more stability of the headset onto the wearer's head.

One of ordinary skill in the art appreciates in other embodiments; theweight of a headset may be concentrated in other areas of the headsetand not just towards the front. In such embodiments, compliant arms mayalso be deployed to selectively distribute the weight of the headset.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a virtual reality/augmented realityheadset using a compliant mounting arm according to some embodiments ofthe invention. Headset 500 includes components that add extra weight toframe 140 from FIG. 1 . Lens 510 is the lens a wearer of headset 500would be looking into or through with the wearer's eyes. In someembodiments, lens 510 may be an LCD screen that may include, forexample, additional electronic components within the LCD screen tooperate the LCD screen. In some embodiments there may be only one lens510. In other embodiments there may be two or more lens 510. In otherembodiments, lens 510 may be clear as eyeglasses in some portions of thelenses and non-opaque in other portions. In other embodiments, lens 510may be used as a projection screen for projector 540 to projectimages/videos onto the lens 510.

In some embodiments, projector 540 may project images and/or videos ontothe lens 510 for the wearer to see and interact with the VR/AR system.In some embodiments, there may be one or more projector 540. In someembodiments, projector 540 may not be present depending on theconfiguration of headset 500.

Camera 530 is used for capturing images or videos of the surroundingenvironment of the wearer. In some embodiments, Camera 530 is outwardfacing with respect to the wearer. The images and videos captured by theone or more camera 530 may be fed to electronic component 520 forprocessing, rendering, and/or sending to an external system (not shownin the figures) to the headset.

Electronic component 520 may be used to process locally on headset 500certain software programs for example image and video capturing,rendering and processing. Electronic component 520 may also provide thecomputational power to receive images and videos from an external systemand display and project the images and videos onto the lens 510 via theone or more projector 540. Furthermore, electronic component 520 mayprocess input data received from one or more sensor 550.

Sensor 550 may track location of the wearer, the movement of the wearerto determine a pose of the wearer's line of sight, etc. Sensor 550 mayalso sense the surrounding temperature. Data that is tracked by sensormay be sent to electronic component 520 for processing or for relay toan external system.

In some embodiments there may be one or more electronic componentslocated on the frame 140. In some embodiments there may be one or moresensor 550. One of ordinary skilled in the art appreciates thecollection of the multiple components on the frame 140 add additionalweight to the frame 140. Furthermore, the majority of the additionalweight is generally toward to front portion of frame 140 (e.g., theportion towards the lens 510) and thus, the additional weight, ifundistributed would most likely rest upon the nose bridge of a wearer.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a virtual reality/augmented realityheadset according to some embodiments of the invention. Headset 600includes AR/VR components similar to FIG. 5 attached to a frame 140.Compliant arms 610 may be attached to frame 140 such that the compliantarms 610 (depicted as being within the frame of the headset) wrap aroundthe whole head of a user. The compliant arms 610 may be joined togetherby a connector 620. The connector 620 may include a spool type springthat provides a compression force to join the compliant arms, whereinthe spool type spring provides a compression force that joins thecompliant arms together for fitting adjustments to accommodate differenthead sizes instead of a compression force for constricting the compliantarms and headset to a user's head.

Connector 620 may maintain a continuous force via the spool type springso that the user does not have to manually adjust the compliant arms orthe connector 620 once the headset 600 is adjusted to fit the user'shead. For example, a user may adjust a circumference of the wrap aroundconfiguration (e.g., expand) of headset 600 by separating the compliantarms 610 such that the spool type spring of connector 620 may maintain acompression force to hold the compliant arms 610 in a shape thatprovides an appropriate circumference to maintain a comfortable fit fordifferent sized heads. Headset 600 may rest on the parietal bone locatedjust above the occipital bone of a user to prevent interference with theuser's ears while maintaining a counterweight to the front viewingoptics assembly. Headset 600 may prevent the frame 140 having the frontviewing optics assembly from slipping down the nose bridge bytransferring the weight of the headset 600 from a user's nose bridge toother areas of a user's head (e.g., parietal bone/crown, occipital bone,and forehead).

FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of a virtual reality/augmented realityheadset according to some embodiments of the invention. Headset 700 mayinclude AR/VR components, compliant arms 610, connector 620 and frame140 similar to FIG. 6 that further includes a wrap around configuration.Compliant arms 610 may include an upward bend 710 that allows thecompliant arms 610 to rest and/or hang on a top portion of the occipitalbone and/or the parietal bone of a user's head instead of requiring aconstricting force to securely wrap the headset 700 around a user'shead.

The upward bend of the compliant arms is in relation to the frame 140comprising the AR/VR components such that the backside of headset 700having the joined compliant arms may rest above the occipital boneand/or on the parietal crown. Additionally, the upward bend may be acompound or multi-directional/multi-axial curve or contour about thecalvaria region of the head. Such multi-directional/multi-axial curve orcontour occurs at least about an axis that generally is vertical thougha head, and about a horizontal axis orthogonal to the vertical axis andgenerally runs between the ears of a user. Amulti-directional/multi-axial curve or contour of the compliant arms, incombination with the connector between the two compliant arms having anangle that approximates a slope of the posterior aspect of the parietalbones when viewed in the sagittal plane, allows the headset 700 tomaintain contact interface with the head and rest on the top portion ofthe occipital bone and/or upon the parietal bone/crown of a user's head.The upward bend 710 may improve weight balance of the headset 700 byhanging the headset 700 from the head rather than clamping down on orhugging the head, and minimize interference with a user skeletalstructure or hair otherwise. Furthermore, in some embodiments themulti-directional/multi-axial curve or contour culminating at the upwardbend 710 at the distal ends may help to prevent headset 700 from slidingdown and resting on a user's ears by having a geometry smaller than thatof the occipital bone, which would serve as an anatomical obstruction tosuch sliding motion. Additionally, the upward bend 710 may also allow amore universal fit for different head shapes and/or sizes. Yet evenfurther, the upward bend 710 may allow headset 700 to rest and/or hangfrom the occipital bun and/or the parietal bone/crown to preventinterference with the user's ears while maintaining a counterweight tothe front viewing optics assembly. The upward bend 710 may also preventthe front viewing optics assembly from slipping down the nose bridge bytransferring the pressure and force of the weight of the headset 700from a user's nose bridge to other areas of a user's head (e.g.,occipital bun, crown, etc . . . ).

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evidentthat various modifications and changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, the above-described process flows are described with referenceto a particular ordering of process actions. However, the ordering ofmany of the described process actions may be changed without affectingthe scope or operation of the invention. The specification and drawingsare, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather thanrestrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A headset, comprising: a first compliant armhaving a first rib, a second rib, and a first closed loop structure thatcomprises one or more openings, wherein the first rib comprises a firststraight segment along a length direction, a width direction, and athickness in a thickness direction, and the first closed loop structureand a straight segment form a planar structure along a first plane thathas a surface normal along the thickness direction, and the first andthe second ribs are connected to the first closed loop structure atrespective, different connection locations and are otherwisedisconnected from each other; and a frame comprising a first temple armto which the first compliant arm is adjustably attached, wherein thefirst rib corresponds to a first deformation profile upon which at leastthe first closed loop structure is determined, and the first closed loopstructure in the planar structure, when the headset is placed on a headof a user, exhibit, along the first plane, an in-plane deformation basedat least in part upon the deformation profile.
 2. The headset of claim1, wherein the first compliant arm non-uniformly distributes a load dueto at least the portion of a weight of the headset onto a strong bonestructure of the head of the user.
 3. The headset of claim 1, whereinthe first straight segment of the first rib in the first compliant armcomprises a slenderness ratio, and the first compliant arm uniformlydistributes a load along a portion that is not an anchor point or anchorbone of the head of the user.
 4. The headset of claim 1, wherein thefirst closed loop structure of the first compliant arm has an inner walland an outer wall, and the first compliant arm non-uniformly distributesat least a portion of a weight of the headset due to the in-planedeformation of at least the first rib or at least one of the inner wallor the outer wall of the first compliant arm.
 5. The headset of claim 1,the frame further comprising: a second temple arm to which a secondcompliant arm is adjustably attached, wherein the second compliant armcomprises a second closed loop structure having a one or more separateopenings, the first closed loop structure and the second closed loopstructure are respectively attached to the first and the second templearms and are otherwise disconnected from each other, and the firstcompliant arm is adjustably attached to the first temple arm of theframe and provides adjustments along multiple axes.
 6. The headset ofclaim 1, wherein the in-plane deformation occurs in one or moredirections in the first plane due to at least a portion of a weight ofthe headset.
 7. The headset of claim 1, wherein the first compliant armand the first temple arm of the frame are constructed as one singlebody, and the first compliant arm is adjustable on multiple axesrelative to the first temple arm of the frame.
 8. The headset of claim1, further comprising two upper closed loop structures, and a secondcompliant arm different from the first compliant arm, wherein a firstupper closed loop structure of the two upper closed loop structures isattached to the first compliant arm and encloses at least a first upperrib and a second upper rib that jointly define one or more firstseparate openings in the first upper closed loop structure, wherein thefirst upper rib comprises a first upper straight segment along a firstupper length direction and comprises a first upper width direction and athickness direction, the second upper rib comprises a second upperstraight segment along a second upper length direction and comprises asecond upper width direction and the thickness direction, the firstclosed loop structure, the first straight segment, and the second upperstraight segment form a first planar structure for the first upperclosed loop structure along a first plane which has a first surfacenormal along the thickness direction, and when the headset is placed onthe head of the user, the first plane on which at least a portion of thefirst planar structure is located is normal to a portion of a firstcontour of the head in contact with the first planar structure, and thefirst straight segment and the first planar structure, when the headsetis placed on the head, exhibit, in the first plane, a first in-planedeformation to approximately match the portion of the first contour ofthe head, a second upper closed loop structure of the two upper closedloop structures is attached to the second compliant arm and encloses atleast a third upper rib and a fourth upper rib that jointly define oneor more second separate openings in the first upper closed loopstructure, the third upper rib comprises a third upper straight segmentalong a third upper length direction and comprises a third upper widthdirection and a separate-thickness direction, the fourth upper ribcomprises a fourth upper straight segment along a fourth upper lengthdirection and comprises a fourth upper width direction and the separatethickness direction, the second closed loop structure, the thirdstraight segment, and the fourth upper straight segment form a secondplanar structure for the second upper closed loop structure along asecond plane which has a second surface normal along the separatethickness direction, and when the headset is placed on the head of theuser, the second plane on which at least a portion of the second planarstructure is located is normal to a separate portion of a second contourof the head in contact with the second planar structure, and the thirdstraight segment and the fourth planar structure, when the headset isplaced on the head, exhibit, in the second plane, a second in-planedeformation to approximately match the separate portion of the secondcontour of the head, the first or the second closed loop structurecomprises a deformation profile which, when the headset is placed on theuser's head, approximately matches a separate portion of a contour ofthe head of the user, and the two upper closed loop structures, thefirst compliant arms, and the second compliant arm are each adjustableon respective multiple axes.
 9. The headset of claim 1, wherein thefirst compliant arm is adjustably joined to the first temple arm of theframe by a connector, the connector comprising a spool type springwhich, when the headset is placed on the head of the user, provides acompression force that joins the first compliant arm and the firsttemple arm to form a shape that approximates a circumference thatapproximates the head of the user, instead of constricting the firstcompliant arm to the head of the user.
 10. The headset of claim 9,wherein the first compliant arm comprises an upward bend that allows thefirst compliant arm to rest on a top portion of an occipital bone or aparietal bone of the head of the user.
 11. The headset of claim 1,wherein the headset is a virtual reality or augmented reality headset,and the first plane comprises the surface normal which, when the headsetis placed on the head of the user, lies along a vertical direction froma perspective of the user.
 12. A compliant arm, comprising: a planarstructure defining a plane and comprising: an adapter that operativelycouples the planar structure to a first temple arm of an eyewear; and aclosed loop structure located in the plane and comprising: an outerwall; an inner wall; a wall bridge connecting the inner wall and theouter wall; a first rib comprising a first straight segment along afirst length direction, a first width direction, and a first thicknessin a thickness direction, a second rib comprising a second straightsegment along a second length direction, a second width direction, and asecond thickness in the thickness direction, the first and the secondribs respectively connecting at least the outer wall to the inner wallat respective, different pairs of connection locations and are otherwisedisconnected from one another, and at least the outer wall, the innerwall, the first rib, and the second rib of the closed loop structureform the planar structure along a plane that has a surface normal alongthe thickness direction, wherein the first straight segment, the secondstraight segment, and at least the inner wall of the closed loopstructure in the planar structure exhibit, when the compliant arm isplaced on a head of user, an in-plane deformation in the plane toapproximate at least a portion of a contour of the head of the user, theplanar structure corresponds to a deformation profile upon which atleast the closed loop structure is determined, and the outer wall, theinner wall, the wall bridge, and the first and the second ribsdistribute, based at least in part upon the deformation profile, a loadby exhibiting the in-plane deformation in the plane, caused by the loadand occurring in the plane, of at least one of the inner wall and thestraight segment.
 13. The compliant arm of claim 12, wherein the planarstructure is a single body of a same material that comprises athermoplastic material.
 14. The compliant arm of claim 12, wherein therib first length direction and the second length direction in the plane,when the compliant arm is placed on the head, are normal to the portionof the contour of the head in contact with the planar structure.
 15. Thecompliant arm of claim 12, wherein the outer wall is made of a flexibleplastic material, the wall bridge comprises a flexible metal, and thefirst or the second rib is made of the flexible plastic material or adifferent flexible plastic material.
 16. The compliant arm of claim 12,wherein the compliant arm is adjustable on one or more axes when coupledto the first temple arm of a frame of the eyewear by using a connectorthat receives the first temple arm on one end and the compliant arm onanother end.
 17. The compliant arm of claim 12, wherein the first andthe second ribs have multiple, different spacing values from one or moreneighboring ribs or multiple, different thicknesses.
 18. The compliantarm of claim 12, wherein the first or the second rib corresponds to aslenderness ratio for the deformation profile of the planar structure.19. The compliant arm of claim 12, further comprising a plurality ofribs including the first and the second ribs, wherein the plurality ofribs in the planar structure comprises an earlier rib, a central rib,and a later rib, the central rib comprises a higher slenderness ratio,and the earlier rib and the later rib comprises one or more lowerslenderness ratios that are lower than the higher slenderness ratio ofthe central rib.
 20. A headset comprising: a first compliant armcomprising: a first planar structure in a first plane that, when theheadset is placed on a head of a user, exhibits a first in-planedeformation in the first plane that extends over a top of the head ofthe user in contact with the upper compliant arm; a second planarstructure in a second plane that, when the headset is placed on the headof the user, exhibits a second in-plane deformation in the second planethat extends over a back of the head of the user in contact with thelower compliant arm, wherein the first planar structure comprises afirst upper rib, a second upper rib, and a first closed loop structurethat comprises one or more openings defined by at least the first andthe second upper ribs, the first upper rib comprises a first upperstraight segment extending along a first rib longitudinal direction andhaving a first thickness along a thickness direction that is normal tothe first plane, the second upper rib comprises a second upper straightsegment extending along a second rib longitudinal direction and having asecond thickness along the thickness direction that is normal to thefirst plane, the first and the second upper ribs are connected to thefirst closed loop structure at respective, different connectionlocations and are otherwise disconnected from each other, the firstclosed loop structure and at least the first upper straight segment andthe second upper straight segment, when the headset is placed on thehead of the user, exhibits the first in-plane deformation in the firstplane, and the first planar structure and the second planar structurerespectively correspond to a corresponding deformation profile uponwhich at least the first and the second closed loop structures arerespectively determined; and a frame comprising a first temple arm towhich the first planar structure and the second planar structure areadjustably attached, wherein the headset, when placed on the head of theuser, distributes, based at least in part upon the deformation profile,a weight of the headset with at least the first in-plane deformation andthe second in-plane deformation.